EFF has long complained about export restrictions by the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Commerce that deny citizens access to vital communications tools. In the past, this has affected, among others, Zimbabwean activists trying to obtain hosting providers, Syrian businesspeople networking on LinkedIn, and ordinary Iranians trying to download web browsers.

This week brings new restrictions in Syria and Pakistan, while watchdog group Freedom House releases a new brief on the growing challenges to Internet freedom.

Syria Blocks WordPress

This has been a tumultuous year for Syrians and for the Syrian Internet. In response to protests beginning in February, the Syrian government unblocked Facebook, Blogspot, and YouTube for the first time since 2007. While some observers saw it as a move toward a freer Internet, others viewed it as better enabling surveillance; the latter turned out to be right.

In the wake of the Google+ Nymwars, the events of the Arab Spring, and discussion surrounding the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), there is a growing need for both companies and users to have a better understanding of how terms of service (ToS) and community policing methods affect online speech. Social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+--as well as video and photo-sharing sites--are increasingly playing the role of the public sphere, and policies around content removal and account deactivation can have chilling effects on free expression.

Chiranuch Premchaiporn, more commonly known by her pseudonym, “Jiew,” is the director of one of Thailand’s most popular alternative news sites, Prachatai. EFF has been following Jiew’s work--and her commitment to free expression--for quite some time. In October 2010, following a conference on Internet freedom, Jiew was arrested upon re-entering Thailand. EFF conducted an interview with her shortly afterward.